National Healthcare Disparities Report - LDI Health Economist

Patient Centeredness
n In 2008, overall, 6% of adult hospital patients reported poor communication with nurses during their
hospital stay, and 5% reported poor communication with doctors (data not shown).
n Compared with Whites, all minority groups were more likely to report poor communication with
nurses (Figure 5.5). Blacks, American Indians and Alaska Natives, and patients of more than one
race were more likely to report poor communication with doctors.
n Also in 2008, Hispanics were less likely to report poor communication with nurses but not with
doctors compared with non-Hispanic Whites (5% compared with 7% with nurses).
n Patients with less than a high school education were more likely to report poor communication with
both nurses and doctors compared with patients with any college education (7% compared with 5%
with nurses, 6% compared with 5% with doctors, respectively).
n Patients who speak Spanish at home were more likely to report poor communication with nurses
compared with patients who speak English at home (7% and 5%, respectively), while patients who
speak some other language at home were more likely to report poor communication with both nurses
and doctors (7% for nurses and 6% for doctors).
Also, in the NHQR:
Chapter 5
n Patients ages 45-64 were more likely to report poor communication with doctors compared with
patients ages 18-44.
n Patients age 65 and over were less likely to report poor communication with nurses compared with
patients ages 18-44.
Patient and Family Engagement: Enabling Effective Patient Navigation and Management
of Care
To effectively navigate the complicated health care system, health care providers need to give patients access
to culturally and linguistically appropriate tools to support patient engagement. Culturally and linguistically
appropriate services (CLAS) are important components of effective health care delivery. It is vital for
providers to understand patients’ health care needs and for patients to understand providers’ diagnoses and
treatment recommendations. Communication barriers can relate to language, culture, and health literacy. This
year, we provide data on language diversity.
For people with limited English proficiency, having language assistance is of particular importance, so they
may choose a usual source of care in part based on language concordance. Not having a language-concordant
provider may limit or discourage some patients from establishing a usual source of care.
To fill the data gap that currently exists, we examined subnational data-gathering activities and identified the
California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) as a unique source of this type of information. CHIS is
conducted by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research in collaboration with the California Department
of Public Health, the Department of Health Care Services, and the Public Health Institute.
Every 2 years, CHIS involves random-dial telephone interviews with up to 50,000 California households.
The people included in CHIS are a statistically representative sample of the entire State’s diverse population.
With each survey cycle, new households are selected to participate. Beginning in 2007, CHIS also includes a
sample of cell-phone-only households, which are often younger and more mobile Californians frequently
overlooked in land-line surveys.
National Healthcare Quality Report, 2011
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